Hurricane Ian rapidly intensified off Florida's southwest coast Wednesday morning, gaining top winds of 155 mph (250 kph), just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status.
rapidly intensified as it neared landfall along Florida's southwest coast Wednesday morning, gaining top winds of 155 mph , just shy of the most dangerous Category 5 status. Damaging winds and rain lashed the state, and the heavily populatedU.S. Air Force hurricane hunters confirmed Ianafter battering Cuba, bringing down the country’s electricity grid and leaving the entire island without power. Ian was centered about 65 miles west-southwest of Naples at 7 a.m.
The hurricane center warned of catastrophic storm surges raising the water level as much as 12 feet to 16 feet above ground level for coastal areas straddling Punta Gorda and Fort Myers, which are between Naples and Sarasota. Winds exceeding tropical-storm strength of 39 mph reached Florida by 3 a.m. and the first hurricane-force winds were recorded by 6 a.m., well in advance of the eyewall moving inland, the Miami-based center said. Rainfall near the area of landfall could top 18 inches .
There were 250,000 people in the Fort Myers/Lee County mandatory evacuation zones, and authorities worried ahead of the storm that only 10% or so would leave. Her husband insisted all would be fine. “You know, you got to go with the flow,” Glyn Williams said. "So we’re quite happy doing what we’re doing.”
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